Our Story
My mom, Lynn, has sewn all her life. She even went to Fashion Design School in San Francisco during the 1940’s and learned from French design instructors. To help pay her tuition, she was hired to work in the school office. She was a small town girl in the big city; San Francisco proved to be a delightful, but wide-eyed learning experience for Lynn. Nevertheless, she loved the fashion design school and enjoyed living the life of an “up-town girl” while boarding with an aunt and uncle in the city. After all, she told her parents she was determined not to even consider marriage until she’d been to Fashion Design School!
Fast forward 50 some years later…
Lynn had long ago completed her courses in Fashion Design, was engaged and married shortly thereafter, and spent a lifetime working hard as a rancher’s wife while raising a family of four children. Sewing became her joyful “me-time” whenever she could fit it into her schedule.
After seeing each of her children off to their own exciting lives and becoming a beloved “Nama” to thirteen delightful grandchildren, mom finally had some time to indulge her hobby. I had recently discovered quilting and was so excited to share it with her! I called my mom, told her about my new passion for quilting and declared she was certain to love it too! I told her the next time we got together she needed to bring some coordinating fabrics and we’d make a block. Oh, the resistance I heard… “I don’t want another hobby, I don’t want more inventory, I’d have to get more fabric and it takes up too much space” and on and on! I told her “you can just use the fabrics you have, you won’t have to buy more.” I must have been convincing because when she arrived for our next visit she had several coordinating fabrics in hand! I was thrilled to share the experience of making a quilt block and see where it would take us!
Fast forward another 20 years…
It only took making that one block and my mom was completely hooked! The adventures we’ve had together since she made her first block have been priceless. We’ve traveled by cars and planes, taken quilting classes from friends and renowned teachers, designed and sold our own quilt patterns, participated in award shows and competitions plus worked numerous quilt shows as a vendor. With the help of my husband and two sons, we’ve packed U-Haul trucks like we were playing games of Tetris with container upon container of patterns, kits, fabrics, zippers and all the fluff needed to set up a vending booth and sell merchandise. We’ve met the best of girlfriends, learned from others, laughed until we cried and stayed up all hours of the night sewing, talking and giggling. Together we’ve seen amazing quilts from around the world and watched as the industry has evolved into a true, modern art form.
A few years back, at age 90(!) my mom boldly decided to relocate from Northern California to Eugene, OR to be nearer to me. She’s always been an independent woman and when she got her feet on the ground she decided to buy the house behind ours to live. Then a few months later, the house across the street from us was available and she bought that one too! I told her, “you need to decide which house you want to live in,” and she replied, “I want to live in the house across the street from you and the house behind yours would make a great quilting house!” From there, Mom and I were bursting with ideas and enthusiasm. We were like teenage girls that couldn’t talk fast enough. It was hard to sleep that night! Here we went again… another, new adventure!
After two years of brainstorming, demolition, construction, and hours upon hours of shopping and selecting just the right finishes and accessories we were finally ready for guests! When we first debuted the Quilt Star Retreat we had so many girlfriends who wanted to be able to come, sew and socialize together we decided we needed TWO retreat houses! Thus, we now have the “Quilt Star House” (with attached crafting studio) and our second home, the “North Star House” – both have been remodeled top-to-bottom and emerged with their own personality and flavor. Together we can accommodate up to 14 and have studio space for 12. Our dream was finally realized! We are thrilled to now (finally) be ready to share these beautiful spaces with fellow enthusiasts. We are confident, whichever home you choose to stay in, you can’t go wrong!